Don't Do That: Don't Automate the Human Out of Your Practice with Reed Colley, Orion

In this energizing and forward-looking episode of Don't Do That, Kelly Waltrich sits down with Reed Colley, President of Technology at Orion, for a conversation about where the advisory industry is heading and what it takes to stay ahead of the curve.The heart of the episode, though, focuses on something more fundamental: the advisor-client relationship. Reed argues that AI should not replace the human elements of advice; instead, it should eliminate the noise so advisors can focus on what clients hired them to do. His "Don't Do That" lesson cuts straight to it: stop treating the most repetitive, time-consuming parts of your workflow as inevitable, and stop ignoring the tools that can free you up to do the work only you can do.Kelly and Reed cover:00:51 The origin of Summit and the vision behind it 02:46 Why the advisor-client relationship is the only metric that matters 05:55 What it feels like to lead tech innovation during an AI revolution 06:20 How AI is enabling leapfrog innovation at Orion 09:21 Denali: Building an LLM-agnostic, enterprise-grade AI platform 12:43 Orion's client base and earning the right to serve them 14:07 The Web 2.0 parallel and what this moment really means 17:46 How AI is changing Orion's internal teams 18:14 Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset in a solutions revolution 21:03 How team workflows are transforming in real time 24:00 What this moment means for the next generation 27:20 Orion Ascent preview 30:31 Reed’s Don't do That: Stop ignoring what AI can take off your plate 32:29 Don't automate the human out of your practiceAbout Our Guest:Reed Colley joined Orion in January 2025 as President of Orion Advisor Technology following Orion’s acquisition of Summit Wealth Systems. As co-founder and CEO of Summit, Reed recognized the need to humanize wealth management by creating a modern, digital and mobile experience for advisors and their clients. Prior to Summit, Reed founded and served as CEO of Black Diamond Performance Reporting. He also founded calendar analytics platform Copilot, Do Something Great Today, and FlightPath Inc. Reed holds a Bachelor of Science with degrees in Engineering and Economics from Vanderbilt University, where he was a starting pitcher on the baseball team.Disclaimer: Outputs generated by Orion Denali AI should be reviewed for accuracy and appropriateness by financial professionals in all cases.📩 Stay Informed – Join Our Newsletter!Stay ahead of industry trends and get exclusive updates straight to your inbox: Sign Up Now https://intention.ly/💬 Let’s Talk!Have questions or ready to start your next marketing campaign? Contact us: https://intention.ly/contact-us/